Approaches to Peace of Gülen, Dalai Lama, Rosenberg Discussed at Cologne Conference
The Intercultural Dialogue Center of Cologne sponsored an in-depth symposium on Wednesday titled “Nonviolent Communication and the Contribution of Cultures to Peace” in which the thoughts of Fethullah Gülen, the Dalai Lama and expert on nonviolent communication Marshall Rosenberg were explored.
A paper explaining Gülen's ideas on peace was presented by Eyüp Beşir from the Inter-religious Dialog Platform (FID). Beşir stressed that Gülen has always dreamed of a young generation embodying profound intellectual ability, wisdom and spirituality and added that the coexistence of people within a framework of human rights is very important for Gülen.
Recalling Gülen's words “A Muslim cannot be a terrorist, and a terrorist cannot be a Muslim,” Beşir thinks this demonstrates the value Gülen attaches to the existence of human beings. “With this understanding, Gülen sees the possibility of inter-religious dialogue. But his openness to dialogue didn’t just start after 9/11; rather, he had already been successful in gathering people together from various ideological bases and connecting them in a peaceful atmosphere,” added Beşir. He also noted that in Turkey, Muslims, Christians and Jews have been living side-by-side without any problem for decades.
Annette Kirsch, from the Tibet House, explained in her paper the ways in which the Dalai Lama has developed peaceful relations with non-Buddhists. Reiterating that the Dalai Lama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, she underlined that he has advocated the establishment of peace in his travels around the world.
Marshall Rosenberg's approach to conflict resolution through nonviolent communication was also discussed in a presentation by Kendra Gettel, who explained that Rosenberg divides the process of such communication into four parts: observation, feeling, needs and request.
Theology Professor Klaus Otte of the universities of Basel and Frankfurt praised efforts for the improvement of dialogue and stated: “With dialogue we have learned ways of peaceful coexistence with our Muslim fellows. Maybe there are new opportunities for scientific progress in the meanings of the Quran and the Bible.”
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